Miller, David II

David Miller II (b. ca 1780; d. Aug 22, 1861, per tombstone) was the son of David Miller (1743-1821), a Revolutionary War Veteran who distinguished himself as a courier (or Express rider). This was an important job as only those whose honesty and loyalty were unquestioned were entrusted with messages that could have meant life or death to many Revolutionary soldiers. David II married Catherine Worley of the Sandy Mush section of Buncombe Co. Their children were: Pollie (1804-?) who married Alcie Cordell; Joseph (1805-1891) who married Maria Powers; Easter (1810-1878) who married Austin Spain; Bettie (1815-?) who married John Patton; Nancy (1820-1910) who married Samuel Ledford; Caroline who married Solomon Stroup; Frank who married Nancy Randall; and Nathan who married Viney Stroup. Catherine (Worley) Miller’s burial place is not known; it is believed that she is the daughter of Francis Worley/Wordley.[Webmaster note: If, Catherine Worley is a daughter of Francis Worley, the children of this marriage are eligible to be considered First Families of Old Buncombe.]

About 1824, David II married Mrs. Rachel Harrison Snelson (ca 1793-1873), widow of Joseph Snelson. She and Joseph had four children: Nathaniel (1813-1887) who married Anne Teague; Margaret (ca 1814-?) who married Eliza Randall; William (ca 1818-?) who married Elizabeth Miles; and John Thomas (1819-?) who married Bathsheba Fuggitt. Rachel was widowed when Joseph died in Ross County, Ohio in 1820. Nathaniel Harrison, her brother, journeyed to Ohio to return his sister and her small children to North Carolina.

David II and Rachel had three children: Gabriel (1824-1864) who married 1st Catherine Phillips and 2nd Salina West; James Mitchell (1825-1864) who married Rozella West; and Katherine (1828-1907) who married Joseph Reed. Katherine (Miller) and Joseph Reed had several children; their youngest was Harriet Katherine Reed who married Charles Richard Whitaker. This youngest child was the author of “Genealogy of the Miller Family 1637-1926” and “Reed Family of Facombe, County of Southampton, England, and Virginia and North Carolina.” David II and Rachel are buried at Bethesda Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, Haw Creek, east of Asheville, NC. [Note: David’s tombstone is no longer at the cemetery. The inscription said: “David Miller died Aug. 22, 1861, aged, 81 years, my brother shall rise again.”